Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a statewide mask mandate requiring maks to be worn in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. This statewide requirement that extends to both patrons and employees of businesses and venues goes into effect on Monday, December 13th and will be re-assessed on January 15th…

Governor Kathy Hochul issued a press release announcing masks will be required to be worn in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. This is a statewide requirement that extends to both patrons and employees of businesses and venues. The requirement will go into effect on Monday, December 13th and…

The Members of the Liquor Authority voted to end the Attorney Certification Program in February 2022. This program, implemented by former Chairman Dennis Rosen in 2009, gave applications filed by attorneys who “certified” the accuracy of the information priority in the license application process. At the start, Chairman Rosen directed that all attorney certified applications…

The campaign to eliminate the tip credit and require food service workers to be paid the full minimum wage picked up the support of New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Speaking at a One Fair Wage (OFW) event in support of eliminating the tip credit, DiNapoli threw his weight behind legislation pending in Albany as…

Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) is set to enter the New York market through a partnership with Opici Family Distributing. RNDC is the second largest wine & spirits wholesaler in the country overall, with projected 2021 revenue of $12.5 billion. The New York market is currently dominated by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Empire…

Shayla Colon, Albany Times Union November 9, 2021   Employees who had to endure the painstaking process of filing a complaint to raise concerns about safety and health in the workplace now have a different avenue to bring up such issues. The New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) gave workers at companies…

Governor Hochul’s Labor Department announced at the end of last month that it has determined that the upstate minimum wage for general occupations should rise 70 cents on December 31, 2021, to a new rate of $13.20 an hour. That is consistent with the increases each of the last six years. The upstate minimum has…

New York State has launched the Restaurant Resiliency Program to provide relief to the restaurant industry. The program provides funding to New York’s network of food banks and emergency food providers to purchase prepared meals from New York restaurants and deliver them to families in need. Restaurants will need to show capacity to create meals…

Governor Hochul has pledged to usher in a new era of greater transparency and accountability. As part of that commitment, she has required all of the State agencies under her control to submit plans to accomplish this goal. The Liquor Authority’s submission to the Governor’s senior staff was comprised of a summary of their current…

The Joint Employer-Employee Workplace Safety Committee provision of the recently enacted HERO Act takes effect on November 1st. Under this part of the Health and Essential Rights Act, employers with at least 10 employees shall permit employees to establish and administer a joint labor-management workplace safety committee. The law does not require employers to create…

Governor Hochul’s Labor Department announced today it has determined that the upstate minimum wage for general occupations should rise 70 cents on December 31, 2021, to a new rate of $13.20 an hour. That is consistent with the increases each of the last six years. The upstate minimum has risen 70 cents annually — from…

The NYS HERO Act requires action by all employers – regardless of your size. Every employer in the State is required to have a HERO Act plan in place and, given the recent designation of COVID-19 as a covered illness, those plans need to be active at this time. The State Labor Department has drafted…